We have a few ways to express this in Irish:

<em>Is ionann an cás an t-éag is an bás</em> ("Dying and passing away are the same thing")

<em>Deartháir don tsac an mála</em> ("The sack is brother to the bag")

<em>Níl ann ach buail an ceann agus seachain an muineál</em> ("It's just hitting the head and avoiding the neck")

<em>Ní chaithfeadh an diabhal dísle eatarthu</em> ("The devil wouldn't throw a die between them")

Ok so I think the most common saying in English that has stood the test of time is

"six of one and half a dozen of the other"

A dozen = 12 half a dozen = 6 [literally six of one six of the other] = the same.

@Richard

<em>I am not aware of any other similar pronunciation differences in any other language.</em>

I wasn't looking for similar pronunciation differences. I only gave the backstory of this expression because I wondered where it came from. But what I was asking about is similar expressions that mean, that it's all the same. In French it could be "C'est bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet".

I was thinking about that phrase because I last heard it in the series "Suits" that I'm currently watching. There's the dialogue:

Mike Ross: <em>To tell those miners that the world's best lawyer just got them what they deserve.</em>

Harvey Specter: <em>Second best. </em>

Mike Ross: <em>Ah, potato/potahto</em>.

In the German subtitles they just translate it as "egal" (doesn't matter) while in the dubbed version Mike says "Du bist ein Korinthenkacker." (You're a nitpicker; literally it means "currant shitter"). In Turkish he says "Ha siyah, ha kara"( black or black"). In Italian: "Mettila come ti pare." (Put it as you like). In Spanish he says "Tanto monta, monta tanto" (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanto_monta,_monta_tanto,_Isabel_como_Fernando" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanto_monta,_monta_tanto,_Isabel_como_Fernando</a>;).

The movie (1937) and song were both popular 83 years ago.

The difference in the pronunciation of tuh mei tow <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(107, 75, 161); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">/təˈmeɪtə/</a> / and to-mah-to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(107, 75, 161); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">/təˈmɑːtə/</a> is, according to some sources the difference between American and British pronunciations...

At that time (1930s) the upper class of the US were trying to differentiate themselves from the lower class by using the upper-class, British pronunciation. And the same was true for the word potato.

I am not aware of any other similar pronunciation differences in any other language.

But I can say that everyone in North America, over the age of 70, would know the song and the play on words.

Anyone under that age, would probably not know what you meant if you said tuh mei tow /təˈmeɪtə/ / and to-mah-to /təˈmɑːtə/

I would never say, and don’t recall ever hearing, “potato-potahto”. Moreover, I don’t think it’s a good way to describe two things that are the same.

The referenced song, a love song, is saying that people with different perspectives can still fall in love. (The fact that it uses nonsense examples (no one says “potahto”) is typical of the songwriter’s style - catchy, whimsical, but often nonsensical.) So in the original song, it’s not expressing equality. It’s talking about overlooking differences in background or expression.

To express general equality, more common is “six of one, half dozen of another”